


How do I hate thee?

by Nival_Vixen



Series: Short & sweet tumblr-weed [23]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Stiles Stilinski, Complete, Derek Loves Stiles, F/M, Love Confessions, M/M, Oblivious Stiles, Stiles-centric, Stilinski Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 22:24:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3305552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nival_Vixen/pseuds/Nival_Vixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Let me count the ways...</p><p>All of Stiles' exes hate him for one reason or another. They're all the reasons Derek loves him, though Stiles doesn't know it yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How do I hate thee?

Stiles' first girlfriend breaks up with him in a matter of short weeks. She hates the way he eats, food shovelled into his mouth like he hasn't just eaten an hour ago. She tells him that he's disgusting as she leaves, slamming the door behind her.

_Stiles is six years old, knees up to his chest as he sits on the floor, back pressed up against the couch his father is lying on, drunk and passed out. He's unable to go to work or cook food for them or even look at his son because Stiles is the spitting image of his dead wife, especially when he cries. Whenever Stiles does get a chance to eat, he doesn't hesitate, shovelling food in the way only someone can after they've experienced a hunger of days and not hours._

Stiles' first boyfriend hates the way he dresses. He thinks he should be more suave, wear more tight-fitting clothes, dress in a way an adult should, not a teenager with an unhealthy fixation on comic books and - _of all things!_ \- plaid.

_Stiles is very careful with his clothes, tries not to run around like he once did; he might trip and damage or dirty them beyond repair. His father is back at work, and while he can look at Stiles again, it's in fleeting glances, and Stiles can't stand to see disappointment in the rare times he gets to look at his father's face again. They don't have enough money for clothes that fit him, so he's given bigger clothes - most are donations from well-meaning Aunts and Uncles who Stiles never met before his mother's funeral, and hasn't seen since - and he's told he'll grow into them. He's eight years old wearing clothes that would be baggy on a much taller and broader eleven year old, but Stiles doesn't care because one of his cousins liked **Batman**._

Stiles' second boyfriend claims that he's bipolar, has mood swings, is only ever happy or sad, serious or ecstatic, no in between or lull, and he just can't keep up with it anymore. He hates the roller coaster ride of emotions - why can't he just grow up and settle down already? - and he refuses to stay a second longer.

_It's the week of Claudia's death that anyone realises that Stiles isn't at lunch on the playground with the other boys and girls. He's usually the cause of trouble, the reason for laughter or shouts of glee and horror, so while the teacher on duty must notice that he's not there, they must assume he's finally starting to listen to them and settle down. It's only when Scott approaches an on duty teacher one day, his chest heaving with his nerves, and asks if Stiles has been in detention every day - and if he is, can he please be let out now? - that any of the teachers realise Stiles **hasn't** settled down: he hasn't been there at all. It's not an immediate panic, but it's close, and soon a school-wide manhunt is on for Stiles, tens of young voices calling out for the boy only to return with nothing. When Stiles doesn't appear for his next class on time, his father is called as a last resort. He's recently been promoted to Sheriff, and no one likes to bother the elder Stilinski when they know how busy he is, but a child is missing. When Stiles is questioned, his face is red as he stares at the ground and shrugs. He quietly admits that he likes to sit in the back of the library, swallowed up by the beanbags, and pretend he can't feel anything at all._

Stiles' second girlfriend says she loves him but she hates his buzzed hair. Can't he grow it out or something? It's almost as short as her dad's, and she's doesn't want to be reminded of her dad when they're together. This time, it's Stiles who doesn't stay long.

_Claudia is beloved by all, but it was the 70s when she'd moved to Beacon Hills, her hair shorn close to her head, a long fringe sweeping across her forehead, and most people whispered that she was a dyke. Sometimes the whispering wasn't even done behind her back. Claudia didn't care; she wore jeans that were riddled with holes, boots that were probably heavier than her old red Jeep, and a leather jacket that had 'peace' studded on the back. She sang loudly, spoke constantly, laughed uproariously, and despite it all, everyone still loved her. John Stilinski especially so. Even after they married, Claudia kept her hair short. When Stiles was three years old, he had his hair buzzed short to keep it manageable in the hot Californian summer. Claudia grinned at him in the mirror, winked, then sat beside her wide-eyed son and asked the barber to do the same to hers. When he's fifteen, his mother's been dead for nine years to the day, and he picks up the electric shaver and starts shearing off clumps of his hair._

Stiles' third boyfriend hates his Jeep.

 _He's sixteen and nine months when his father finally lets him go for his learner's permit. He actually had every police station refuse Stiles when he turned sixteen because he was too afraid that he was going to lose him, he's seen too many accidents, too many 'just one drink' turn into 'more than one funeral' on the road, and John can't let his son do that, become that. He can't lose another family member, he just can't. Stiles wheedles him for days, weeks, months, until John finally agrees, under certain conditions of course. Stiles impatiently waits for the conditions before he agrees._ Smart kid. _John will buy the car so long as it's something sturdy and safe on the road, he will be the one that teaches Stiles how to drive and if he needs an instructor, he will use someone from the station, and finally, he'll never **ever** drive under the influence - or let his friends do the same. Stiles agrees, and the next day, John takes him to a dealership. The Jeep isn't either of their first choices, it's at the back of the lot, but as soon as Stiles sees the baby blue Jeep, he refuses to budge or look at any other car. John thinks of Claudia and how she'd probably agree with Stiles on it being both sturdy and safe and even reliable. Stiles is so excited to be in the Jeep that he doesn't even bug John to drive it. Much._

Stiles' third girlfriend hates that he talks too much and she can never get a word in edgewise. She hates his stupid jokes, his breathy laughter that never sounds genuine, how he can't seem to stop talking for a single minute of the damn day. She says all of this as she throws a mug at his head. He dodges it, barely, but there goes his favourite Flash mug. He mourns the loss of the mug more than his ex-girlfriend.

Stiles doesn't date for a while, starts to believe that he's the problem. His exes didn't love or even like him, so they hate everything about him instead. Scott assures Stiles that it's not him, but he's always had Allison, so Stiles doesn't exactly feel as reassured as Scott would probably like. Allison is a bit more frank, Lydia even more so, but they assure him that he shouldn't have to change for others. Jackson's a douche, and Isaac doesn't provide any advice but does offer him a scarf (Stiles guesses that's nice?). Erica coos over him and tells him that his exes were all douchebags, and while Boyd doesn't say much, he nods firmly in agreement with Erica. Stiles doesn't even _want_ to know what Derek must think of him - probably hates him for all of the same reasons - so he doesn't ask, thanks everyone for their support, and goes home.

He's woken in the middle of the night, almost six days later, Derek standing by his open window. Stiles lets out an unmanly yelp, gathering the sheets to his body and he's suddenly glad his father's working the night shift. Derek steps away from the window, closer to him, and Stiles scoots back on his bed further, confused and still a little terrified from being woken up so suddenly. Derek stops, looking contrite and somewhat ashamed, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. Stiles calms down slowly, chest heaving as he gulps in deep breaths, and he demands to know what the hell Derek thinks he's doing. Derek blushes, honest to god, and looks down at his shoes like he's embarrassed.

He loves the way Stiles eats, it reminds him of after the fire when he and Laura were mad and distraught with grief and hunted for anything in the forests, claws in place of fingers, fangs instead of teeth. He knows what it's like to be hungry, to starve, to eat as much as possible while it's still possible.

He loves the way he dresses, the way his clothes mask his body beneath, hides it from those he doesn't deem worthy to see underneath his clothes. He knows the scars that are hidden - results of the nogitsune, the supernatural world, his own clumsiness at times - and while Derek's body doesn't show the same, he would have just as many if it could.

He loves his emotions, the way he can think and live and **be**  so vibrantly, lovingly, throwing his all into everything he is and does. He can be still and silent and contemplative - Derek's witnessed all of these emotions for himself - and though it's rare, it goes to show that he can be serious, even if he doesn't always choose to be.

He loves his hair, shaved and short or long and sticking up, it doesn't matter. It's part of who he is, and he doesn't care if he wants to grow it long down to his ankles - just so long as he doesn't trip over his own hair and brain himself on a table or something.

He loves the Jeep, with the noises that no mechanic can seem to fix, the oil that leaks no matter how many time it's repaired, the engine that most likely hasn't worked properly since Stiles bought the thing. It's still got a scent of his blood, of wolfsbane and poison, but also of curly fries and happiness, laughter and sorrow, of friends and pack. It smells like Stiles and sweat, even with the scented trees, but Derek assures him that it's not a bad thing.

He loves the way he talks, the way he can't keep himself from saying whatever's on his mind. The blunt and sometimes harsh way Stiles has of talking keeps him on his toes, always guessing and wondering what he'll say next. He wants to listen to him forever, talk with him if he would let him join in those conversations, wants to argue with him over DC and Marvel, whether to watch Firefly or Castle, anything and everything if only to hear him talk.

He loves Stiles for his all and everything.

Derek stops talking, ears as red as his cheeks, and Stiles doesn't know what to say. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, but no noise comes out. Derek gives a small nod and goes to climb out of the window again. Stiles falls out of his bed, legs tangled in his sheets, and curses and kicks his way out of them, grabbing Derek's ankle so he won't leave. Not after spilling all _that_. Derek turns back and kneels in front of Stiles on the floor, checking that he's all right after falling off the bed, and as his hands rest on Stiles' shoulders, Stiles pulls him in close and kisses him. Derek smiles against his mouth and kisses him back.

Later, when they're curled around each other, Stiles will admit he loves Derek for everything he is, too.

...

The end.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
